Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chemical Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CHFC) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,686,176 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 146,917 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 3.77% of Chemical Financial worth $143,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation purchased a new position in shares of Chemical Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Chemical Financial by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,785 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Chemical Financial by 99.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. now owns 4,164 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares in the last quarter. Quantitative Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chemical Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Finally, Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chemical Financial by 113.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,607 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448 shares in the last quarter. 80.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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In other Chemical Financial news, insider Lori A. Gwizdala sold 1,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.98, for a total value of $106,635.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,982,028.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard M. Lievense sold 6,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.92, for a total transaction of $364,780.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,660,508.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 67,236 shares of company stock worth $3,933,758. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Chemical Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CHFC) opened at $58.49 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $4,189.04, a PE ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.22. Chemical Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $43.61 and a 1 year high of $59.83.

Chemical Financial (NASDAQ:CHFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $178.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.89 million. Chemical Financial had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 8.46%. analysts expect that Chemical Financial Co. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 1st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Chemical Financial’s payout ratio is 53.59%.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CHFC shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Chemical Financial to $70.00 and gave the company an “average” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Piper Jaffray Companies reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Chemical Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Chemical Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. BidaskClub cut shares of Chemical Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, ValuEngine raised shares of Chemical Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Chemical Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.57.

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Chemical Financial Company Profile

Chemical Financial Corporation is a financial holding company. The Company operates in the commercial banking segment. The Company, through its subsidiary bank, Chemical Bank, offers banking and fiduciary products and services. These products and services include business and personal checking accounts, savings and individual retirement accounts, time deposit instruments, electronically accessed banking products, residential and commercial real estate financing, commercial lending, consumer financing, access to insurance and investment products, corporate and personal wealth management services, and other banking services.